Tsuruga Castle

Aizu-Wakamatsu's castle was founded in the fourteenth century, rebuilt as a five-storey keep in the seventeenth, and dismantled in 1874. The present keep is a 1965 concrete reconstruction, which is common enough; what is not common is the roof. Research established that the tiles in the last decades of the castle's life were red - an unusual iron-glazed tile developed locally to survive Aizu's freeze-thaw winters, where ordinary grey tile cracked - and in 2011 the roof was replaced in red accordingly, making it the only castle in Japan with that colouring. Inside is a museum of the domain. In the grounds is Rinkaku, a tea house of about 1600 that survived the castle's demolition by being moved away and was returned in 1990. The Aizu district is a lacquerware and sake centre and both are sold around the castle.

History

In 1384 Ashina Naomori built Kurokawa Castle in the Aizu basin, the forerunner of Tsuruga Castle, at the crossroads to Kōriyama, Yonezawa and Murakami. Date Masamune took it in 1589, and the surviving buildings, damaged in a later siege and structurally unstable, were pulled down by the new government in 1874 (Wikipedia, Aizuwakamatsu Castle).

What's there

• A red-tiled keep - the only one in Japan, restored to that colour in 2011.
• Iron-glazed tile - developed locally to survive Aizu freeze-thaw winters.
• Rinkaku - a tea house of about 1600, moved away in 1874 and returned in 1990.
• The domain museum - inside the 1965 reconstructed keep.

When to go

Late April for blossom; all year otherwise. Two to three hours.

Before you go

The keep is a concrete reconstruction with a modern interior and a lift. Aizu winters are heavy with snow and access is harder. Displays are largely in Japanese. The town is a long way from any shinkansen line.

Nearby

Sazaedo is on Iimoriyama to the north-east; Ouchi-juku is south.

Key facts